To Our Readers

The days of the buccaneering businessman may be waning, but dynamic organizations can still benefit from a taipan who can tower above the opposition. Standing almost two meters in his socks, John Marcom is not only a big man but a big asset to Time. Like James Clavell's famous character, Marcom rose from the ranks, starting as an intern for Fortune and working as a reporter for the Korea Times, the Wall Street Journal and Forbes before collecting an M.B.A. at the prestigious INSEAD business school in Fontainebleau. In 1993 he joined Time as our development director in Asia, but thanks to his editorial experience and grasp of economics, promotion came swiftly. He was named publisher of Time Asia in 1995 and president of Time Inc. Asia in 1998.

Now based in London, Marcom was recently appointed president of Time Inc. International with responsibility for our worldwide operations. It's a new job that reflects the decentralization of Time International, which now publishes five separate editions from headquarters as far afield as London, Hong Kong, Sydney and New York.

While regionalization has helped us better serve our readers and advertisers with editions tailored to suit their needs and interests, it also became clear that overall global guidance was needed. In announcing Marcom's appointment, Time Inc. editor-in-chief Norman Pearlstine explained: "While we continue to believe strongly in decentralization, we wanted to explore ways to further improve communication and coordination among our regional units and ensure we weren't missing any global opportunities." London, he said, is the logical center for the new post, and Marcom the logical man to fill it: "It's hard to imagine anyone better equipped for this exciting new challenge." Under Marcom's leadership "we not only weathered the Asian crisis, but also strengthened our position in the marketplace."

Marcom aims to let the regions have their independence, but help them work together where teamwork is needed. "Our regional editors and publishers know their markets best," he says. "But a lot of factors are combining to bring us all closer together. Communications are getting easier and cheaper. The increasing flow of people, trends and business ideas across borders means increasing opportunities for Time." With Marcom in charge, we're confident we can seize those opportunities.